Models of Linguistic Manipulation of the Audience in Polycode Advertising Texts in Healthcare

The paper discusses models of linguistic manipulation of the audience in polycode texts advertising medical goods and services. The author’s own methodology is used for a comprehensive (linguosemiotic, communicative-pragmatic, and cognitive-discursive) analysis of polycode texts. The research material consists of an array of polycode texts from Russian commercials of medical goods and services, compiled by the author through his own online monitoring. The scope of the researched material comprises 78 text units. The paper considers varieties of polycode texts that rely on models of linguistic manipulation through the use of mechanisms of linguistic abnormality at different levels of the language system. It has been shown that in their pursuit of excessive linguistic creativity, copywriters of advertising content often err on the side of unjustified and inappropriate “linguistic frills,” ethical lapses, and an unacceptably playful and frivolous tone when discussing serious issues related to the health of the nation. The conclusion is that advertising in healthcare needs to strike a balance between the natural need for self-expression on the part of authors and their desire to present information in an original and nontrivial way, on the one hand, and adherence to the norms and principles of optimum and appropriate verbal interaction with the audience, on the other.